Crytek jumps on Steam Machine hype train, announces Linux support

No word on whether older Crytek engines will find their way to Linux, however.

Sorry if you were hoping for a Wireframe Simulator 2014 announcement. This screen is from the latest CryEngine.

Following Valve's official January unveiling of the first round of Steam Machines, next week's Game Developers Conference in San Francisco may prove to be a giant love fest for Linux game support. Today, German developer Crytek (creator of Crysis and Ryse) announced that its GDC presence will include the company's most public strides ever toward the OS that will power those Steam Machines. Crytek's GDC conference booth will come with its singularly named CryEngine game engine on hand, running with "full, native Linux support... for the first time ever."

That qualifier applies specifically to the latest CryEngine, powering the likes of Xbox One exclusive Ryse: Son of Rome and Turtle Rock's upcoming co-op game Evolve. The vague announcement doesn't explain whether all current games built with the latest CryEngine will immediately, cleanly port to Linux, and none of the company's GDC panels hint at conversations about such a topic. More importantly, the announcement makes no references to CryEngine 3, whose non-commercial licenses seem far more likely to produce indie-developed fare that will run on lower-spec Steam Machines.

Reports from last year indicated that Crytek was hiring new employees to build Linux support for CryEngine 3, though this announcement could mean that Crytek's job posting included an intentional engine-number error. We've reached out to Crytek for more information on the announcement, including whether this means that Ryse will beautifully bore PC gamers in the foreseeable future.

Invest in SteamBox/Linux support for a couple of years; if it plays out you're with/ahead of the game, if it doesn't it's a comparatively minor investment (compared, that is, to the investment if you have to rapidly catch up with a successful platform).

I'm a bit confused as to CryEngine Vs CryEngine 3. Is "3" a separate engine for smaller games, while "CryEngline" is their full on engine?

CryEngine is the overall brand. 3.5.8 is the current version number for the free SDK. What CryTek uses internally and supplies to commercial licencees is typically a little newer, and has source code for the game engine, but is otherwise the same.

The CryEngine v3.5.8 SDK is what you can download from here: http://www.crydev.net/ . It's a full engine, in the sense that it has all the bells and whistles for building commercial games. The SDK (software development kit) runs on Windows, and until now could target Windows, XBox and Playstation for delivered versions of a finished game. It's unclear if Linux support means targeting finished games to run on Linux, or also *building* games on Linux. The latter is harder, because the software development kit has lots of tools for building games that until now all assume you are using Windows.

I'm a bit confused as to CryEngine Vs CryEngine 3. Is "3" a separate engine for smaller games, while "CryEngline" is their full on engine?

They're going the iPad route in a way. CryEngine = most recent one. No more numbers. That's not confusing at all!

I can't wait for the all new CryEngine, every year?

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The vague announcement doesn't explain whether all current games built with the latest CryEngine will immediately, cleanly port to Linux, and none of the company's GDC panels hint at conversations about such a topic.

Going by the staggered release of Source games for Linux, I'm going to say no.

Invest in SteamBox/Linux support for a couple of years; if it plays out you're with/ahead of the game, if it doesn't it's a comparatively minor investment (compared, that is, to the investment if you have to rapidly catch up with a successful platform).

I am sure all this Linux porting is to have an alternate platform in the case Microsoft goes the AppStore route in the future.

To have to pay a fee for each sale is a nightmare for Game developers but a dream for Microsoft.

With an alternate viable platform Game companies have some leverage to negotiate with Microsoft in the case they decide to finally switch to a closed AppStore.

If that happens is better to be able to say "Ok I'm going the SteamOs route and will build my own gaming console or publish only on Steam", that to say "but, but, but ...we were friends cmon dude !!!".

HRM, I wonder if Star Citizen will eventually be directly playable on Linux?

We'll be lucky if Star CItizen is ever even half completed. It's a ambitious project with shaky funding.

I would hardly call $40 million dollars from fans shaky funding. I suspect if Chris and the Gang need more money they will have no problems getting it. Even if they have to go the undesirable route of going to investors.